I just heard from my uncle a novel idea about the Exodus. Apparently, the original intention was for the Jews to go out of Egypt to receive the Torah, and then come back to convert the Egyptians.

I've never heard anything like this before, although of course initial negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh talk about leaving for a limited time. Can anyone provide sources or elaboration on this idea?

Aside from the coming back to convert the Egyptians, there's a famous analysis by R' Menachem Leibtag addressing what, exactly the original goal was. I suggest you try to find that (a quick search online isn't yielding results for me, but if you've got more time, or if someone else here knows what I'm talking about, you might be able to find it).
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Seth JOct 22 '12 at 15:21

3 Answers
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However, the intention for leaving Egypt is spelled out, as we just heard, in Parshah Lech L'Cha Bereishit 15:13-20, G-d telling Abraham what was going to happen to his descendents...serving another nation, leaving, and settling the wide Promised Land. Nothing about returning to Egypt to convert the inhabitants. The only return to Egypt was threatened as part of the Curse in Devarim 28:68.

I venture to guess that your uncle got the idea as a result of the "Telephone Game" corruption of the idea that the Jews influenced Pharoah Akhenaten's sun-god monotheism. The opposite idea that the Jews learned monotheism from Akhenaten has also been theorized. The first idea seems more likely, since the Exodus was (approximately) a couple of generations before his reign. There had to be records extant then of the signs of the One G-d victorious during the Exodus and in the conquest of Canaan during his reign...possible reasons for that Pharoah to devote himself to one (sun) god, instead of many.

We see from the dvar Torah from Rabbi Moshe Kormornick (www.shortvort.com) quoted above that the Jews definitely did not have any intention of returning to Egypt to convert the Egyptians!

We can also add a proof to this based on Hashem's words to Moshe: "You will not see Pharoah every again (alive)" We also have a debate in the Gemora whether Pharaoh was killed or not at the time of the splitting of the sea. (The machlokes is based on the verse which says "ad echad" which is either translated as "no one [survived]" or "one [survived]". This is a running machlokes through Shas.

Therefore, based on the Tanna who says Pharaoh did survive, how could it be that Moshe was going to go back to Egypt; Hashem had already said that he would never see Pharaoh again? Therefore, it must be that the Jews never had any intention of converting the Egytians after they left.

The questions perhaps is referring to the Jewish People's intention of returning to Egypt initially (as Moshe requested to leave for 3 days (to receive the Torah)) and to come back. However, it's not clear that their intention of returning was to convert the Egyptians, rather, to sustain themselves for the remaining time, as mentioned above in the ShortVort.com dvar Torah.

A similar ideas is found here in this dvar Torah by Rabbi Moshe Kormornick of www.shortvort.com, a great Torah website with thousands of short vorts for every occasion - from Bris and sheva brachos to the Parsha! This is an article that Rabbi Kormornick emailed out in his weekly shortvort email. It's free to sign up at www.shortvort.com and highly recommended! See also - http://www.shortvort.com/parasha/shemos/bo and http://www.shortvort.com/parasha/shemos/beshalach

Hope this is useful... (the footnotes did not copy over but they are at the bottom!)

וַיֻּגַּד לְמֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם כִּי בָרַח הָעָם
And it was told to the king of Egypt that the People had fled… (14:5)

Moshe had asked Pharaoh to grant the Jewish People three days leave from Egypt to go into the wilderness to serve Hashem , and before they left, Moshe told everyone to borrow expensive vessels and clothes from the Egyptians . When, after three days the Jewish People were not returning, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he set chase against them.
How could Moshe tell the Jewish people to borrow expensive vessels and clothes from the Egyptians before they left Egypt, and how could he ask Pharaoh for permission to take the whole Jewish People into the desert for three days in order to go and serve Hashem, surely they were never planning on returning?

Rav Shmuel Weinbaum presents the following luminous approach to answer these questions, using the words of the Ramban that the Jewish People would never be allowed to reach such a lowly level where they would be destroyed . Bearing this in mind, the Arizal explains that if the Jewish People would have spent one more moment in Egypt, they would never have been redeemed, for they would have entered the 50th Gate of Impurity . The Ohr Hachaim adds that this is true since they had not received the Torah, but if they would have had the Torah, then they could have even been redeemed from the lowest 50th level.
With this, we can understand why Moshe would ask to borrow from the Egyptians and why he asked for permission to leave Egypt for a short time.

It was already told to Avraham that the Jews would be in slavery for four hundred years . Seeing that they could not survive the remaining time in Egypt without the Torah, Moshe wanted to take the entire Jewish People to Sinai to receive the Torah, which was three days journey away, dressed in the world’s finest splendor as an honour to the Torah that they were to receive - and then to return to Egypt to finish their destined time of slavery!
Moshe had every intention of returning to Egypt and returning their precious items, however, after the final plague, Pharaoh told the Jews to leave and never to return there .
But, in order to explain how the Jews were not required to return the Egyptian’s possessions even though they did not have to return to the land, the Sforno explains that the Egyptians who went on to chase the Jews into the sea were those who lent their gold, silver and clothes and now feared that they would not have them returned. When these Egyptians were finally killed in the sea, the Jews were allowed to keep their possessions, as any victor is permitted to keep the spoil of those who wage battle with them .